A Merry New Year at Magic Kingdom

Tens of thousands of New Year’s Eve celebrants packed Disneyland on Monday night, unfazed by heightened security that included front-gate purse searchers and uniformed police officers scattered throughout the Anaheim resort area.

At the inaugural New Year’s Eve festivities for Disney’s California Adventure, some guests had a beer or a bit of bubbly.

“I don’t want to see any stumbling drunks running around Disneyland, but as long as people keep their cool, it’s fine,” Nick Fernando, 21, of Torrance said as he sipped an $8 glass of champagne at the Golden Vine Winery in California Adventure.

Deron McCoy, 29, of Hermosa Beach said he and his friends had visited the theme park so they could have a couple of beers with dinner. “We got some tickets at the 11th hour,” he said. “We decided to come to Disneyland because everything in the L.A. area was pretty calm. We thought this would be something different.”

It did seem festive as park officials handed out party hats and noisemakers that sounded like quacking ducks. Countdowns to midnight were planned at several locations in both Disney parks.

Michelle Nachum, a spokeswoman for Disneyland Resort, said New Year’s Eve “is the busiest time of year for us. It’s a well-known fact.”

Though Disney does not release attendance figures, one supervisor said projections were the same as for 2000: about 65,000 at the Magic Kingdom, with 15,000 more arriving after midnight from California Adventure. The holiday is Disneyland’s latest night of the year, closing at 3 a.m., with California Adventure closing at 1 a.m.

Nobody was turned away from either park this year, officials said. Ticket sales were halted three times between Christmas and New Year’s in 2000 because of heavy crowds, but that did not happen in 2001, officials said.

All three of the resort’s hotels were sold out for the night, however, and other large hotels in Anaheim also were full, including the 1,572-room Anaheim Hilton and Towers and the 489-room Sheraton Anaheim.

“I thought it would be quieter, to tell you the truth,” said Al Lutz, editor of the Web site MousePlanet.com, which is devoted to unofficial Disney news and advice. He said Disney parks in Florida seem to have been hurt more by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“For some reason, we’ve been really unaffected out here,” Lutz said. “I think they’ve been doing great. Disneyland, in particular, has been well exceeding its numbers.”

Disney officials said security has been heightened since the terrorist attacks, and guests are being asked to open their purses and backpacks for searches. “It doesn’t bother me,” said Erica Sotelo, 20, of Los Angeles. “It’s for safety. It takes up a little time, makes the lines longer, but that’s it. I love Disneyland.”

The only other reminders of the tragedy were American flag decorations and the red, white and blue merchandise that has popped up at stores throughout the resort area.

Crowds were heavy Monday, with 90-minute waits for popular Disneyland attractions such as the Indiana Jones Adventure and Space Mountain.

Both Disney parks had plenty of holiday trimmings: Christmas lights and decorations, the “Believe . . . In Holiday Magic” fireworks and snow show, special entertainment at California Adventure, and rides such as the Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World made over for the season.

Even Disneyland’s trademark “Happiest Place on Earth” motto was altered ever so slightly on concession area napkins and cups to read “The Merriest Place on Earth.”

Elsewhere in Orange County, Fullerton’s historic downtown area held its 11th annual “First Night Fullerton,” an alcohol-free event featuring live entertainment, children’s activities and a fireworks finale.

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Times staff writers Jerry Hicks, David Haldane and Bonnie Harris contributed to this report.